Chapter 5 - The Woman Behind the Locked Door
St. Agnes House stood behind a high stone wall, surrounded by bare trees and a narrow road.
The building had once been a convent. Its tall windows and faded statues gave it the appearance of a place designed to keep the world outside.
Dominic approached the front desk alone.
“My name is Dominic Moretti. I'm looking for a woman named Sarah Bell.”
The receptionist stiffened.
“I'm afraid I can't help you.”
“She's my wife.”
The woman glanced toward a camera above the desk.
“Sir, you need to leave.”
Dominic placed Isabella's wedding ring on the counter.
“Please. Just tell me whether she's alive.”
The receptionist looked at the ring.
Her expression softened.
“Room seventeen,” she whispered. “But you didn't hear it from me.”
Dominic took the stairs two at a time.
Room seventeen was at the end of a quiet corridor.
He stopped outside the door, afraid to knock.
What if it was another lie?
What if Isabella had truly died, and he was chasing the ghost of a woman who no longer existed?
Then he heard a sound from inside.
A woman humming.
It was an old Italian lullaby Isabella used to sing when the two of them were alone.
Dominic opened the door.
A woman sat beside the window, her dark hair falling over one shoulder. She was thinner than he remembered. A pale scar crossed her left temple, and one hand rested protectively over her abdomen.
She turned.
The cup slipped from her fingers and shattered against the floor.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then the woman whispered, “Dominic?”
He could not move.
“Isabella.”
She rose unsteadily.
He crossed the room in three strides and stopped just before touching her, terrified that she might disappear if he moved too quickly.
“You're alive.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Yes.”
He reached for her, and she collapsed against his chest.
Dominic held her as if the world itself were trying to take her away.
“I looked everywhere,” he whispered. “I searched hospitals, morgues, private clinics. I searched every place I could think of.”
“I know.”
“Why didn't you come home?”
Isabella pulled back.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of Marco?”
“Of Marco, Charles Sterling, and the people who protected them.”
Dominic touched the scar on her temple.
“What happened to you?”
Isabella sat down slowly.
“After I confronted Vanessa and Marco, I tried to leave the city. I was driving toward the coast when a car forced me off the road. My vehicle caught fire. I escaped, but I hit my head and lost consciousness.”
Dominic's face tightened.
“Who found you?”
“A truck driver. He took me to a clinic under a false name. When I woke up, I couldn't remember everything. I remembered my name, but I couldn't remember where I'd been going or whom I could trust.”
“And Vanessa?”
“She found me first.”
Dominic stepped back.
“She knew you were alive?”
“Yes.”
The answer hurt more than he expected.
Isabella continued.
“She told me Marco was searching for me. She said you had been forced to cooperate with him and that if I returned, I would put you in danger. I didn't know whether to believe her.”
“You could have called me.”
“I tried.”
Dominic froze.
Isabella reached for a small notebook on the bedside table.
“I called your private number from a clinic phone. Someone answered. It wasn't you. The man said you knew what happened to me and had chosen the family over your wife.”
Dominic's blood ran cold.
“Who answered?”
“I didn't recognize the voice. But I heard Marco in the background.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
For eighteen months, he had believed Isabella had abandoned him.
She had believed he had betrayed her.
And Vanessa had stood between them, feeding each of them a different lie.
“I never stopped looking for you,” he whispered.
“I know that now.”
He knelt before her.
“I'm sorry. I should have listened when you warned me about Marco. I should have trusted you.”
Isabella touched his face.
“You can't change what happened. But you can decide what happens next.”
He pressed his forehead against hers.
“Come home with me.”
She hesitated.
“Dominic, there's something you need to know.”
He looked up.
“Before I lost my memory, I discovered that Marco and Charles weren't simply stealing money. They were transferring the family's properties because they planned to use them as collateral for a much larger operation.”
“What operation?”
“An illegal weapons shipment. If the deal collapsed, the properties would be seized, and the Moretti family would be blamed.”
Dominic felt cold.
“And you have proof?”
Isabella nodded.
“The recording is only part of it. The original ledgers are hidden somewhere in the mansion.”
Dominic thought of the fire.
“The east wing burned.”
“Not the entire mansion,” Isabella said. “There's a wall safe behind the portrait of your grandfather in the old study. I hid the ledgers there.”
Dominic stared at her.
“Why didn't you tell Emma?”
“I did. But I told her to wait until you found the dress. I didn't know whether you would ever discover the letter.”
He took her hands.
“We're going back.”
Isabella shook her head.
“Not until you understand something else.”
“What?”
May you like
She looked toward the door.
“I wasn't the only person they wanted to disappear.”
